The newly introduced system, according to Chief Justice Hon Pereira, will result in significant cost savings, “Not only to the court and the state but also to legal practitioners, to the litigant who we serve. Photo: VINO

A special launch ceremony was held at the Road Town, Tortola ECSCJ headquarters with the hierarchies of the Eastern Caribbean Judicial System led by indigenous Virgin Islander Chief Justice Hon Pereira and local Legislators led by Premier Smith. Photo: VINO

Premier Smith shares a moment with Chief Justice Pereira. Photo: VINO

The launch featured attendance from the hierarchies of the Eastern Caribbean Judicial System led by indigenous Virgin Islander Her Ladyship the Honourable Dame Janice M. Pereira, DBE, Chief Justice and local Legislators led by Premier and Minister of Finance Dr the Honourable D. Orlando Smith (AL).

Cost & time saving

Before making to official ‘click’ to launch the portal, Chief Justice Pereira underscored the importance of the newly introduced system, “Now think about where you have a system that allows you electronically to prepare bundles online, the ability of the Judge to download those bundles… take all those thirty boxes on one thumb drive put it in your pocket or drop it in your bag and you will be ready and prepared to conduct those hearings,” she said.

Just one week ago, the ECSCJ was forced to charter an aircraft for their thirty boxes of bundles because the airline “indicated they cannot take thirty boxes in one go,” officials at the ECSCJ said.

The newly introduced system, according to the Chief Justice, will result in significant cost savings, “Not only to the court and the state but also to legal practitioners, to the litigant who we serve. We know that preparing bundles is a long tedious process, pagination, photocopying for the court of appeal eight bundles at a time.”

Embrace the technology

She further challenged those in the judicial system to own the new E-Litigation Portal, “Embrace it… Change as you know sometimes is hard or we think that change is hard, but change is really the only constant that there is and so in order to grow we must embrace change,” she said.

“So as we go forward together in this new era in the delivery of the pre-judicial services for the people of the Virgin Islands and the wider jurisdictions of the court, I ask for your continued support in serving and how you assist us in serving you and in providing better access to justice and in the quality of the delivery of justice,” Chief Justice Pereira said. 

She also lauded the National Democratic Party (NDP) led government for the initiative of installing their E-Government system, “I think it is one [the move] that would take the Virgin Islands and make what it does in terms of services… a jurisdiction that offers high-quality services not only to the people in this region but across the world.”

About the Portal

The E-litigation Portal is a highly proven web-based application that will enable electronic filing and management of court cases within the jurisdiction of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court while providing ready access to Court users and all stakeholders to assigned services anytime, anywhere and on any device including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops.

The portal will be implemented within all Courts in the OECS Member States and Territories beginning with Saint Lucia, the Virgin Islands and Anguilla in phase one. The stakeholders within the Member states were consulted throughout the design, development and testing phases.

This new initiative will mean the improvement of the delivery of justice to all level of the Court throughout the OECS region, along with the reduction in operational costs all around with efficiencies and convenience to be realised after the launch.